Mom of dead girl briefly out of coma

A Dolton woman found comatose next to the body of her 6-year-old daughter has been in and out of consciousness and has spoken briefly, officials said Friday.

Patrice Garner, 35, was taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey after her mother, Princess Oden, discovered her Thursday afternoon at home in the 15700 block of Dobson Avenue, lying in bed next to her daughter, Kierra, who was dead.

Garner's condition has improved and by Friday morning she had regained consciousness for short periods at least twice, said Dolton city spokesman Sean Howard.

Kierra's autopsy was completed Friday morning, but a cause of death was not yet available, said a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A toxicology report will not come back for weeks, he said.

Doctors at the hospital have told investigators that a physical examination of Garner's body raised some suspicion as to how she fell into a coma, officials said.

There were no obvious signs of trauma on Garner or her daughter, authorities said.

Howard said police believe Kierra had been dead for several hours, possibly since the night before her body was found.

Robert Zeegers, principal at St. Dorothy School in Chicago, where Kierra had been a pupil the last two years, said the school will dedicate next week's liturgy to her.

"She was an absolutely delightful little girl," Zeegers said. "She was just a fountain of life, always a model young lady."

He said the girl's mother always had a smile on her face when she dropped off her daughter in the morning.

Zeegers said there was never any indication of problems at home.

He said that counselors were on hand Friday to talk to the students and teachers.

Howard said Garner's husband, Grady, who had been out of state for several days when the incident unfolded, has been extremely cooperative with the investigation.

"He wants to get to the bottom of this as well," Howard said.

Jill Gimesky, director of human resources at OWP/P, the Chicago architecture and engineering firm where Patrice Garner works, said the staff is praying for her quick recovery.